Indian conglomerate Tata group-owned Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) is planning to raise up to 1 billion pound by September to keep the cash-starved company afloat without the British government's help, media report said.

According to British newspaper the Guardian, "Tata is trying to raise up to 1 billion pound by September to keep Jaguar Land Rover afloat without government help."

As per the report the Tatas have mandated financial adviser Citigroup to find banks with solid credit rating­prepared to underwrite some of the 340 million pound loan pledged by the European Investment Bank (EIB).

The Tatas are also seeking to tap the debt­markets to help secure the 500 million pound to 1 billion pound short-term financing package needed, the newspaper added.

"Even if Tata can raise more debt and find banks willing to underwrite part of the EIB loans, the cost of the financing will be very high," the Guardian said.

The report further said the Tata Group, which controls Jaguar Land Rover through its subsidiary Tata Motors, will cut or freeze investment plans for new models. More redundancies from its 15,000-strong workforce are also likely.

Meanwhile, the government had revealed its conditions for underwriting part of the EIB loan for the Tatas. These included giving the government the right to appoint a chairman to Jaguar Land Rover, a guarantee that the Tatas would not make any redundancies and provide an additional large injection into the firm.

The Tatas have, however, rejected the government's conditions for underwriting some of the EIB loan to secure immediate and short-term help. "The Indian firm, which remains committed to Jaguar Land Rover, believes it can secure better terms independently," the daily said.

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